Jerome Williams (born May 10, 1973) is an American former professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player active in the
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
between 1996 and 2005. Williams played for the
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...
,
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...
,
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...
, and the
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
.
Career
He was a star player on the
Magruder High School
Col. Zadok Magruder High School (#510) is a secondary public school located in Rockville ( Montgomery County), Maryland, United States.
Magruder is named for Colonel Zadok Magruder, a Revolutionary War patriot and farmer. He was colonel in comma ...
basketball team. Drafted out of
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
by the
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...
with the 26th pick of the
1996 NBA Draft
The 1996 NBA draft was the 50th draft in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held on June 26, 1996 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting college basketball play ...
(the pick originally belonged to the
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
and went to the Pistons in the
Dennis Rodman
Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...
trade), he played four-plus years with the Pistons, becoming one of their key reserves. He was a fan favorite during his days playing for the
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...
due to his tenacious efforts on the court.
On February 22, 2001, Williams was traded from the Detroit Pistons, along with
Eric Montross
Eric Scott “Big Grits” Montross (born September 23, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight seasons with the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey Nets ...
, to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for
Corliss Williamson
Corliss Mondari Williamson (born December 4, 1973) is an American basketball coach and former basketball player who played for four teams during his 12-year NBA career. He last served as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns. His nickname i ...
,
Tyrone Corbin
Tyrone Kennedy Corbin (born December 31, 1962) is an American former basketball player and assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets. He was first appointed the assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns, then was named the Utah Jazz’s head coach, on Fe ...
,
Dávid Kornél and a future first-round draft pick. He was so enthusiastic about joining his new teammates that he immediately drove from Detroit to Toronto upon hearing the news. In
2002-03 with the Raptors, Williams averaged 9.7 points per game, primarily as a starter, his career-best scoring average. In 2003, Williams also made a cameo appearance in the
Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
movie ''
Full-Court Miracle
''Full-Court Miracle'' is a 2003 Disney Channel Original Hanukkah Movie. It premiered on November 21, 2003. Inspired by the true story of University of Virginia Cavaliers basketball star Lamont Carr, the film centers on a group of young Jewish b ...
''.
In December 2003 Williams was traded again, this time along with
Antonio Davis
Antonio Lee Davis (born October 31, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, and New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also playe ...
and
Chris Jefferies
Christopher Allen Jefferies (born February 13, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for the Toronto Raptors and the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
He was named First Team All-Western ...
, to the
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...
for
Jalen Rose
Jalen Anthony Rose (born January 30, 1973) is an American sports analyst and former professional basketball player. In college, he was a member of the University of Michigan Wolverines' " Fab Five" (along with Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy K ...
,
Donyell Marshall
Donyell Lamar Marshall (born May 18, 1973) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He's currently an assistant coach for the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. During his National Basketball Association (NBA) career, ...
and
Lonny Baxter
Lonny () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Ardennes department
The following is a list of the 449 communes of the Ardennes department of France.
The communes cooperate ...
. Overall in
2003-04, Williams played in 68 games, starting 44 of them, averaging 6.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. During the 2004 offseason, he was involved in yet another trade, one that sent him and
Jamal Crawford
Aaron Jamal Crawford (born March 20, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2000 to 2020. He is regarded as one of the best ball handlers in NBA history,. He was nam ...
to the
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
for
Dikembe Mutombo
Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (born June 25, 1966) is a Congolese-American former professional basketball player. Mutombo played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Outside basketball, he has becom ...
,
Frank Williams,
Othella Harrington
Othella Harrington (born January 31, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. After he finished his high school career at Murrah High School, he played in college at Georgetown University where he teamed with future NBA supers ...
and
Cezary Trybanski. His relocation to New York meant a relegation to the bench, as he played about 17 minutes per game.
On August 15, 2005, the Knicks waived Williams to avoid
luxury tax
A luxury tax is a tax on luxury goods: products not considered essential. A luxury tax may be modeled after a sales tax or VAT, charged as a percentage on all items of particular classes, except that it mainly directly affects the wealthy bec ...
es on his salary, as part of the NBA's new labor agreement. He announced his retirement from his playing career less than 48 hours later. Williams played in 587 games over nine seasons, averaging 6.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
Post-playing career
Williams joined the NBA's "
Basketball Without Borders
Basketball Without Borders is a basketball instructional camp organized by the NBA in conjunction with FIBA. It presents itself as a “basketball development and community outreach program that unites young basketball players to promote the sport ...
" program, an effort to teach the game and bring resources to underdeveloped nations in Africa, Asia and elsewhere. In
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, he was always greeted with a standing ovation when he returned in a Bulls or Knicks uniform. Nicknamed the Junk Yard Dog (or JYD) by
Rick Mahorn
Derrick Allen Mahorn (born September 21, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player who played power forward and center for the Washington Bullets, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, and the New Jersey Nets of the National Basket ...
in his early days as a Detroit Piston for his hard work and hustle (as stated in an interview while he served as a commentator on
NBA TV
NBA TV is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit. Dedicated to basketball, the network features exhibition, regular ...
), Williams sometimes referred to himself in the
third person
Third person, or third-person, may refer to:
* Third person (grammar), a point of view (in English, ''he'', ''she'', ''it'', and ''they'')
** Illeism, the act of referring to oneself in the third person
* Third-person narrative, a perspective in p ...
.
On January 25, 2006, Williams rejoined the Toronto Raptors as their community representative.
Williams also played a minor role in the Canadian FBI show, ''
Sue Thomas: F.B. Eye''. He played Otis Washington, a dealer turned
informant
An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informan ...
.
Williams was hired as Director of Player Development for the national champion Findlay Prep basketball team before becoming assistant coach. In the summer of 2013, Jerome was promoted to the position of Head Coach at Findlay Prep. He stepped down as head coach in the summer of 2014.
Williams continues to be a part of youth development through basketball as he was appointed the President of The Young3 which holds 3-on-3 tournaments for young people ages 9–14.
Williams and other basketball legends have implemented a digital educational program throughout North America, called Shooting For Peace.
References
External links
Williams's NBA.com blog about Basketball Without BordersShooting For Peace Program Powered By Basketball Legends
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jerome
1973 births
African-American basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in Canada
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Washington, D.C.
Big3 players
Detroit Pistons draft picks
Chicago Bulls players
Detroit Pistons players
Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball players
Junior college men's basketball players in the United States
Living people
Montgomery College alumni
New York Knicks players
Power forwards (basketball)
Toronto Raptors players
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American sportspeople
American men's 3x3 basketball players